Holidays Archives - Page 10 of 13

Weekend Roundup

The recent discovery of a large wine cellar at Tel Kabri is described in the New York Times.

Ran Shapira at Haaretz reports on the latest finds at Gezer.

Guy Steibel is commemorating the 50th anniversary of Yigael Yadin’s excavations of Masada with a tour for journalists. He reveals that the one big thing they haven’t found yet is a latrine.

The Jewish Press has more about the stone altar discovered at Shiloh, including a better photo.

Miriam Feinberg Vamosh has a feature article in Haaretz on women and their work in the ancient world.

Thanksgiving and Hanukkah are rarely celebrated at the same time. This article on the Chabad website explains when it last happened and when it may occur next (in 2070).

Oxford University Press has published The Ancient Near East: A Very Short Introduction by Amanda Podany. At 168 pages (and $9), this will be more appealing to some than the longer (and more costly) introductions.

The official trailer for Noah is out. I’m told by those who have seen more than the trailer that the movie is not faithful to the biblical story.

HT: Charles Savelle, Mark Hoffman, Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Two women grinding in courtyard in front of home, mat04156

Two women grinding, 1930s
Photo from Traditional Life and Customs

Tagged Discoveries, Holidays, Israel's Coast, Resources, Samaria, Shephelah

Wednesday Roundup

Excavations on Mount Zion this summer revealed a Early Roman period mansion that archaeologists suggest belonged to the family of a priest in the first century. The story is also reported by livescience.

A summary of this year’s excavations of Tel Yafo (Jaffa) is now online. The work focused on the only Egyptian gate known in Israel.

There’s another article on the alleged discovery of Dalmanutha.

Why was Samaria made the capital of the Kingdom of Israel? Norma Franklin argues from her archaeological research that it was the city’s economic potential.

The University of Pennsylvania is celebrating a century since it received the Sphinx.

Logos Bible Software is looking for a Bible Map Designer.

“Explorations in Antiquity in LaGrange will soon open its Biblical Life Artifacts Gallery.”

Philologos explains why Sukkot is a harvest holiday, even though there’s little to harvest. For those beginning the joyous celebration of Sukkot tonight, we say hag sameah!

HT: Mark Hoffman, Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer

Sphinx, red granite, 19th Dynasty, from Memphis, tb072311783

The Sphinx of the University of Pennsylvania

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Galilee, Holidays, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Museums, Opportunities, Samaria, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Shmuel Browns has posted a series of high-res photos of the new mosaics at Bet Qama.

Donald Trump wants to build Israel’s second 18-hole golf course. It will be located along the coast between Ashkelon and Ashdod.

Israel’s Water Authority will begin allowing 1,000 cubic meters of water per hour to flow out of the Sea of Galilee into the Jordan River.

Wayne Stiles shows why Beth Shemesh is an appropriate place to reflect on the feast of Shavuot (Pentecost).

Coastal plain south of Ashdod once claimed by the Philistines and now the proposed location of Donald Trump’s golf course.
Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.

Tagged Discoveries, Holidays, Jordan Rift, Philistines, Shephelah

Weekend Roundup

Plans to reconstruct Herod’s tomb at the Herodium have been scrapped.

The same article reports that the Herod exhibition at the Israel Museum has been extended to January 2014.

Tuesday’s Samaritan Passover ceremony is described in a Haaretz article. (I believe the first photo caption is wrong, for the animal is not slain until sunset.)

105 million euros is not enough to save Pompeii from deterioration, according to a New York Times video.

Ferrell Jenkins is back in Israel and he recently spent a morning with Shmuel Browns.

The Spring 2013 season at Tel Burna is over and they have found evidence of a destruction in the 9th century. There are still a few days left to sign up for the summer season.

Haaretz’s “Tourist Tip #218” describes the significance of the Broad Wall of Jerusalem.

The temporary bridge to the Mughrabi Gate next to the Western Wall still stands, but next month a committee is going to meet in Paris to discuss its replacement.

FoxNews reports on apps for archaeology.

Berlin’s Pergamon Museum has a new exhibition on the Mesopotamian city of Uruk. Better photos are available here.

Christianbook.com is now selling The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols.) for only $99.99. (That’s 75% the $400 list.)

A rare, original set of the 13 volumes of the Survey of Western Palestine has just been listed by a UK bookseller for $6,400. For $35 more, you can pick up a digital copy of the oversized maps.

HT: Jack Sasson

Key Map for the Survey of Western Palestine. All 26 maps (plus one from Transjordan) are for sale here.

Tagged Excavations, Holidays, Italy, Jerusalem, Judah, Mesopotamia, Museums, Resources, Samaria, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Passover Sacrifice Reenactment

From Arutz-7:

Jewish groups held a mock Passover sacrifice on Thursday opposite the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The ritual slaughter was not merely a historic reenactment, but, they say, practice in advance of the reconstruction of the Temple. The practice sacrifice has been held annually for the past several years. This year organizers were unpleasantly surprised by a veto from Israel’s Veterinary Services, which refused to authorize the event. Organizers took the matter to court, and were able to quickly get a ruling permitting the ritual. The various groups involved in the event were represented by Rabbi Yehuda Glick, who told Arutz Sheva that the ritual was carried out with as much Biblical accuracy as possible. “We took the goat, as the Torah commands, we had an altar built like the real one, and a cooking pit built according to halacha [Jewish law],” he said. “We slaughtered the goat with Leviim singing and priestly clothing, just like in the real Passover sacrifice.”

The full story includes a one-minute amateur video. Another video from a similar service several years ago was produced by SourceFlix.

Tagged Holidays, Jerusalem

Questions about Christmas

Religion News Service has begun a few feature called “Ask the Experts” and the first edition is focused on Christmas. They ask half a dozen scholars to weigh in on the following questions. I provide responses to three questions.

Why do some Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7th?
Why do we repeatedly hear about the “three wise men,” when biblical scholars tell us there were in fact many magi who attended Jesus after his birth?
Why did Mary and Joseph have to go to Bethlehem? How did civil authorities determine which town people had to report to at census-taking time?
Is it true that the word translated “inn” – kataluma – could also mean guest room? In other words, could Mary and Joseph been seeking shelter in relative’s guest rooms, rather than at the inn?
How was the birth of Christ celebrated before Constantine?
Is it true that most Christian churches did not celebrate Christmas in significant way until about a hundred years ago?
Is it true that department stores were the ones that started many of the traditions that we celebrate today?

The statement that Bethlehem was not on a major road is wrong. Bethlehem is located along the central ridge of the hill country and virtually everyone traveling to Jerusalem from the south would have passed by it. For more about the kataluma issue, see my previous post here.

Read all of the questions and answers here.

Shepherd with flock near Bethlehem.
Photo from The American Colony Collection.

Tagged Holidays, Jerusalem, Judah